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HeyGen is an AI avatar platform: you pick a presenter, give it a script, and it speaks to camera. Many brands also use it for product and UGC-style video ads. In May 2026 HeyGen replaced its Unlimited plans with credits, so what a month of videos costs now depends on the avatar model you use. If ads are your main job, a tool built around products, ads or real creators may fit better. Here are the HeyGen alternatives for UGC video ads, with what each is best for and HeyGen's new pricing explained first.
We checked every price on the vendor's own site. Here is how we compared them.
Prices checked 28 September 2026HeyGen alternatives compared
| Tool | Best for | Paid plans from | Free option | Who is on camera | Languages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HeyGen (reference) | AI presenters and talking-head video | $29/mo ($24/mo billed yearly) | 3 videos a month, up to 1 min | Stock or custom AI avatar | 175+ on paid plans |
| CamClo AI | UGC ads and commercials from a product photo | $49/mo | 7-day free trial, 20 credits (card required) | A person generated for each ad, or no person | Speech in the language you ask for |
| Arcads | AI actor ads at volume | See vendor site | Trial offered, terms not listed | 1,000+ AI actors, or your own | 30+ |
| Creatify | Ads from a product link | $39/mo | 10 credits a month, watermarked | 300 AI actors on Starter | 75+ |
| MakeUGC | Many AI creators on yearly billing | $59/mo ($29/mo billed yearly) | $1 trial | 1,000+ AI creators | 50+ |
| Captions | Editing plus AI actors in one app | $24.99/mo | Some features free | AI actors or your digital twin | Captions in 100+, plus AI translation |
| Billo | Real human creators | From $99 per video | Free to browse creators | Real creators | Depends on the creator |
| Synthesia | Training and multilingual presenters | $29/mo ($18/mo billed yearly) | Basic plan, no card | 125+ AI avatars on Starter | 160+ |
Entry paid plan on each vendor's official site on 28 September 2026, in US dollars, billed monthly unless marked. "See vendor site" means the vendor does not publish a price. Confirm before you buy.
What changed in HeyGen's pricing in 2026
HeyGen stopped selling its Unlimited plans after May 15, 2026. New subscribers now get a monthly credit balance that every feature draws from, including the Avatar III videos that used to be unlimited.
| Plan | Before: Unlimited plans | Now: credit plans |
|---|---|---|
| Creator | $29/month: unlimited Avatar III videos, plus 200 Premium Credits a month for Avatar IV, Veo and lip-synced translation | $29/month: 600 credits a month for every feature, Avatar III included |
| Pro | $99/month ($79 billed yearly): unlimited Avatar III videos, plus 2,000 Premium Credits a month | From $49/month ($41 billed yearly): 1,000 credits a month, with larger tiers up to 100,000 |
From HeyGen's help center on 28 September 2026: its article on the legacy Unlimited plans and its article on credits.
Other rules that come with the credit plans:
- Creator cannot buy more credits. When they run out, you upgrade to Pro. Pro moves up to a bigger tier instead of buying packs. Only Business can buy extra credits, at $5 per 100.
- Unused credits expire. On monthly billing they roll over for one more month. If you cancel to the Free plan, unused credits are lost.
- Legacy plans are one-way. Existing Unlimited subscribers keep their plan while it stays active, but cannot come back to it after cancelling or switching. HeyGen also says legacy Premium Credits now use the same rates for paid features.
The change is not all bad. HeyGen says Creator now has three times the monthly credits it had before, and it recommends the new plans to people who mostly use Avatar IV and V. The people who lose are heavy Avatar III users, whose videos were unlimited and now cost credits.
What a HeyGen credit buys
| What you make | Credits per minute | Minutes from Creator's 600 credits |
|---|---|---|
| Avatar III, video look | 4 | 150 |
| Avatar III, photo look | 7 | About 85 |
| Avatar IV, photo look | 16 | About 37 |
| Avatar IV, video look | 31 | About 19 |
| Avatar V | 48 | 12.5 |
| Video Agent, standard mode | 40 | 15 |
| Video Agent, Seedance mode | 120 | 5 |
| Translation with lip-sync | 6 | 100 |
Rates from HeyGen's credits article on 28 September 2026. Generated clips cost a flat amount whatever the length: 60 credits for a 720p Seedance 2 clip, 150 at 1080p, and 90 for a Veo 3 clip.
For ad makers, that works out like this: a 30-second ad with an Avatar V presenter uses 24 credits, so Creator's 600 credits cover about 25 such ads a month before any retakes. The same 30 seconds in Video Agent's Seedance mode uses 60 credits, or about 10 ads a month.
HeyGen pricing in 2026
These are HeyGen's plans as listed on 28 September 2026. Paid plans include the monthly credits above, and HeyGen shows the credit cost in the app before you generate.
| Plan | Monthly | Billed yearly | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 3 videos a month, up to 1 minute each, 500+ stock avatars, 30+ languages |
| Creator | $29 | $24/mo ($288 a year) | 600 credits a month, videos up to 30 minutes, 1080p, no watermark, voice cloning, 175+ languages and dialects |
| Pro | From $49 | From $41/mo ($488 a year) | 1,000 credits a month, 4K export, all advanced AI models; larger tiers add credits |
| Business | $149 + $20 per extra seat | $119/mo ($1,428 a year) | 1,500 credits a month, videos up to 60 minutes, 5 custom video avatars, SSO |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | No maximum video length, dedicated support |
The API is priced separately. HeyGen also has a Product Placement feature that puts your product in an avatar's hands.
When HeyGen is still the right pick
If your videos are about a person explaining something, HeyGen, or Synthesia, is likely still the better choice. Stay if you need:
- Training, onboarding or internal updates with the same presenter every time.
- Sales videos fronted by your own digital twin.
- Many languages from one script. HeyGen lists 175+ languages and dialects on paid plans; Synthesia lists over 160.
- Long videos. Up to 30 minutes on HeyGen Creator and 60 on Business. Creatify's Starter allows 2 minutes, and CamClo AI ads run up to 90 seconds.
The tools below fit better when the product is the story: held, worn, unboxed or reacted to in a short vertical ad.
The alternatives, tool by tool
1. CamClo AI
Best for: UGC-style ads and commercials from a product photoCamClo AI is an AI studio for ecommerce teams. Its Video Ads tool starts from your product photo, not an avatar. You pick a format, and it writes the script and generates the whole ad: the person, the setting, the voice and the sound.
- Formats: 15, including UGC, UGC Virtual Try-On, Unboxing, Testimonial, Street Interview, POV and Product Demo, plus produced styles such as Commercial and TV Spot.
- Output: sized for 10 placements, including Reels, TikTok, Shorts and Facebook and Instagram feeds, at 480p, 720p or 1080p, from 4 to 30 seconds per video ad.
- Remix Ads: pick a proven ad from a brand's ad library and CamClo AI rebuilds it around your product, up to 90 seconds.
- Languages: the video models speak many languages. A remixed ad keeps the reference ad's language unless you ask for another.
- Pricing: plans from $49 per month with 150 credits. An 8-second 720p video ad costs 11 credits on the default model. The 7-day free trial includes 20 credits.
Strengths
- Starts from your product photo, so the product on screen is the one you sell
- Formats where the product is used, worn or unboxed, not only presented
- Script, scene and voice in one step, sized for each placement
- Ads up to 90 seconds with Remix Ads
Limits
- Can seem a little expensive next to a single video model, but the credits cover the script, the ad format and the sizing for each placement, not just a raw clip
To see the formats and how an ad is made, visit the UGC video ad maker that starts from a product photo.
2. Arcads
Best for: AI actor ads at volumeArcads is an AI ad maker with a library of more than 1,000 AI actors, or you can create your own. An actor delivers your script to camera and, Arcads says, can hold your product, show your app or wear your clothes.
- Pricing (checked 28 September 2026): not published, so see vendor site.
- Free: the homepage mentions a free trial without listing terms.
Strengths
- A large library of AI actors
- Actors can hold, show or wear the product
- Translation into 30+ languages
Limits
- No public price list, so you cannot compare costs before you sign up
- Built around actors presenting to camera
Pick this instead of CamClo AI if you want a big cast of AI actors, the same face across a series of ads, or ads in several languages.
3. Creatify
Best for: turning a product link into a video adCreatify is an AI ad platform. Paste a product link and it builds a video ad with an AI actor, in a UGC or a more polished style.
- Pricing (checked 28 September 2026): Starter is $39/month with 100 credits, 300 AI actors and videos up to 2 minutes. Pro is $99/month with 300 credits. Yearly billing saves up to 50%.
- Free: 10 credits a month, with a watermark on exports.
Strengths
- Link to video, with no script needed to start
- 75+ languages
- A free plan to test with
Limits
- At 5 credits per 15 seconds of avatar video (its help center), Starter covers about 5 minutes a month
- One generation at a time on Starter
Pick this instead of CamClo AI if you would rather start from a product page URL than a photo, or you need an AI actor speaking another language.
4. MakeUGC
Best for: many AI creators on yearly billingMakeUGC works in three steps: write a script, pick one of more than 1,000 AI creators, and generate. Custom avatars are available too.
- Pricing (checked 28 September 2026): Start up is $59/month, or $29/month billed yearly, with 500 credits a month and 50+ languages. Product-in-hand videos are listed on Pro, at $149/month or $79/month billed yearly.
- Free: no free plan; each plan starts with a $1 trial.
Strengths
- More than 1,000 AI creators
- A low monthly price on yearly billing
Limits
- Product-in-hand videos need the Pro plan
- Start up gets selected models only; unlimited Seedance 2.5 is on Pro
Pick this instead of CamClo AI if you want to choose from a large cast of AI creators at a low price on a yearly plan.
5. Captions
Best for: editing plus AI actors in one appCaptions, from the company now called Mirage, started as an AI video editor. It now adds AI actors, digital twins of yourself, and an ad generator that can turn a product URL into a video ad. Our Captions AI pricing guide breaks down what each plan includes.
- Pricing (checked 28 September 2026): Max is $24.99/month with 500 credits. Frontier is $69.99/month with 1,400 credits.
- Free: free to download, with some features available without a subscription.
Strengths
- Editing, captions and AI actors in one app
- Captions in 100+ languages, plus AI translation and lip-dubbing
Limits
- The pricing page does not say how many videos the credits cover
- A broad editing app, with ads as one feature among many
Pick this instead of CamClo AI if you also edit your own footage and want AI actors and captions in the same app.
6. Billo
Best for: real human creatorsBillo is a marketplace where brands order UGC video ads from real creators. It is the only option here with no AI person on screen.
- Pricing (checked 28 September 2026): Billo says videos start at $99 each. You buy prepaid packs and order from your balance, with no subscription required.
- Free: signing up and browsing creators is free.
Strengths
- Real people, real hands and real rooms
- No mandatory subscription
Limits
- More per video than the AI tools
- A human shoot takes longer than an AI render
Pick this instead of CamClo AI if you want real people in your ads, or want to test a human creator against an AI one.
7. Synthesia
Best for: training and multilingual presenter videosSynthesia is the closest like-for-like HeyGen alternative: AI avatars present a script, with translation and dubbing. It is built for training, onboarding and sales content more than social ads.
- Pricing (checked 28 September 2026): Starter is $29/month, or $18/month billed yearly, with about 10 minutes of video a month and 125+ avatars. Creator is $89/month, or $64/month billed yearly.
- Free: a Basic plan with no card required; Starter adds downloads and removes the Synthesia logo.
Strengths
- Over 160 languages and voices
- Personal avatars from the Starter plan
Limits
- Paid plans cap video minutes each month
- Presenter-style video, not product-in-hand ads
Pick this instead of CamClo AI if you need a presenter explaining something in many languages, such as a product walkthrough or staff training.
How we compared them
We read each vendor's official pricing, product and help pages on 28 September 2026 and recorded the entry plan, the free option, who appears on camera and the languages listed. Arcads publishes no prices. Billo's pricing page needs a login, so its starting price comes from Billo's own site. We saved screenshots of the pricing pages we could reach. We did not run a scored benchmark, so there are no quality scores here. Test your own product before you commit.
How to choose a HeyGen alternative for UGC ads
- Decide who should be on camera. The same AI presenter every time, a new creator-style person in each ad, no person, or a real human.
- Check how the product gets into the shot. An avatar holding it, a scene generated from your photo, or a creator filming the real thing. Check labels, prints and logos frame by frame.
- Price the ad, not the plan. For example: from $99 per video on Billo, 24 of HeyGen Creator's 600 monthly credits for a 30-second Avatar V ad, or 11 credits for an 8-second 720p ad on CamClo AI's $49 plan with 150 credits.
- Be honest about who is talking. An AI person presenting your product is an ad, not a customer review.
If you also need short product clips without a person, our guide to Sora alternatives for product videos compares the image-to-video models.
Frequently asked questions
How much does HeyGen cost?
On 28 September 2026, HeyGen listed a Free plan (3 videos a month, up to 1 minute each), Creator at $29/month ($24/month billed yearly) with 600 credits, Pro from $49/month ($41/month billed yearly) with 1,000 credits, Business at $149/month ($119/month billed yearly) plus $20 per extra seat with 1,500 credits, and custom Enterprise pricing. A minute of video uses 4 to 48 credits depending on the avatar model.
Did HeyGen get rid of its unlimited plans?
Yes, for new customers. HeyGen stopped selling its Unlimited plans after May 15, 2026. Existing subscribers can keep them while the subscription stays active, but cannot switch back after cancelling or moving to a credit plan. On the credit plans, every video uses credits, including Avatar III videos that used to be unlimited.
What is the best HeyGen alternative for product ads?
To start from a product photo, CamClo AI is built for it: it writes the script and generates the whole ad, with the product used, worn or unboxed. For AI actors holding your product, look at Arcads or MakeUGC. To start from a product link, try Creatify or Captions. For real people, try Billo. For presenters in many languages, Synthesia is the closest match to HeyGen.
Can I make UGC ads without hiring creators?
Yes. AI tools generate the person, the voice and the setting, so there is no shoot to book. Avatar tools have an AI actor read your script, and CamClo AI generates the whole scene from your product photo. Either way it is an ad, so do not present an AI person as a real customer.
Is there a cheaper alternative to HeyGen?
HeyGen's Creator plan is $29/month. Captions Max is $24.99/month, and on yearly billing Synthesia Starter is $18/month and MakeUGC Start up is $29/month. Compare what one finished ad costs, not only the plan price: on HeyGen Creator, a 30-second ad with an Avatar V presenter uses 24 of your 600 monthly credits.
Do I need a person on camera?
Not always. UGC-style ads usually show a person, but product-only formats such as a showcase, a demo or an ASMR clip work without one. CamClo AI can make both kinds from a product photo.
Can an AI avatar hold my product?
In several tools, yes: HeyGen (Product Placement), Arcads, and MakeUGC on its Pro plan. CamClo AI generates the scene from your product photo, so the person handles or wears it. Check labels and prints frame by frame before you publish.
Making UGC ads for your products?
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